Mechanical toy



April 15, 1924. 1,490,379

A. GIBBNEY MECHANICAL TOY Filed Aug. 1'7, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 76 i a 655 l I 65 6f m Z W April 15 24- A. GIBBNEY MECHANICAL TOY Filed Aug.

1921 ESheets-Sheet April 15, 1924. 9 1,490,379

A. GIBBNEY MECHANICAL TOY Filed Aug. 17 1921 3 Sheets-Shefit 5 Patented Apr. 15, teas.

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ALBERT GIBBNEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MECHANICAL TOY.

Application filed August 17, 1921.

T0 the Gmatmc'ssioner of Patents.

Be it known that I, ALBERT GIBBNEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Toys, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to toy structure parts, and more particularly to improvements in structural parts of a building outfit such as shown and described in my appli cation filed October 20, 1920, Serial No. 418.215.

The principal objects of my invention are to afford an improved connection for parts of a toy building set; to facilitate the separation of the connected parts so that one part may be removed from another without danger of loosening up other parts of the structure; to provide an improved connector which is capable of joining together structural parts in a large variety of different arrangements; to provide a combination of structural elements which greatly increase the range of building possibilities, and in general to simplify and improve and increase the usefulness of a set of structural toy building elements.

In order to illustrate the application of my invention, l have shown herein a double whirl, which is merely one of many different structures, which may be made from a set of parts embodying my invention. T his particular device has been selected as an example for the reason that it shows the application in a single structure of a large number of diiierent parts, included in a building outfit of this character.

On the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view with parts broken away showing a double whirl built up of parts embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, a top view, partly in section on the line 2-2 showing one of the arms of- ;he double whirl;

Fig. 3, a side view of the car supporting frame, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l. a side view of. a bearing support connected to a journal bar;

Fig. 5, a view of the structure in Fig. 4', looking at the right hand side of the latter figure;

Fig. 6, a sectional view on the line 66 ofFig.2;

Serial No. 492,939.

Fig. a top view of the spinner at the upper end of the vertical shaft in the structure of Fig. 1';

Fig. 8, a sectional view, taken on the line 8-8otFig.7;'

F 9, a perspective view of an improved connecting bar;

Fig. 10, a sectional view of a connecting bar with a channel bar in position to be secured thereto;

Fig. 11, a similar view showing the chan nel bar fully inserted in the connector;

Fig. 12, an enlarged top view of one of the seats of the double whirl;

Fig. 13, a sectional view on the line 1313 Y of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14, looking at the bottom thereof;

Fig. 16, a sectional view on the line 1616 of Fig. 1, and v Fig. 17 an enlarged sectional view on the line UL-1'7 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, it will be ob served that the main elements of the structure are channel bars of U-shaped cross section, which are made in various lengths and in conjunction with these, connecting bars,brackets, clamps, etc, are employed which engage with the channel bars to unite the various parts of the structure.

Connectors are formed with sockets to receive and interlock with the ends of the channel bars, as shown partly in Figs. 10 and 11, the socket comprising a base plate 1, with a U-shaped sleeve 2 secured thereto, said sleeve being formed with laterally 6X- tending flanges 3' which seat against the face of the plate 1, and have the edges curled or clinched around the edges of the base plate 1 so as to secure the plate 1 and sleeve 2 together. The opening 4 through the sleeve is or" substantially the same form as the channel bar 5 so that the end of the latter fits sufiiciently close therein to afford a reasonably tight connection and yet permit the parts to be readily assembled and separated from one another. Plate 1 has an extension 6 at one end beyond sleeve 2 with a rib 7 extending transversely across 'the'upper surface and adapted to engage notches 8 in the edges of the side flanges of the channel bar 5 for the purpose of retail ing the end of the channel bar in the socket, when inserted. The plate 1 comprises a spring metal, and the li 6 projecting beyond the end of the sleeve is sufliciently resilient to yield when the end of the channel bar 5 is inserted in the socket, andspring back in place when the notches 8 of the channel bar come to a position opposite the rib 7, thus affording a spring clasp for holding the sleeve and channelbar assembled.

In view of the location of the rib 7 in advance of the opening into the sleeve 4, it is somewhat difficult to insert the ,end of the channel bar into the socket if the'flanges of the channel bar are continued informally to the end of the channel bar, and therefore, in order to'facilitate the insertion of the channel bar in the socket I cut away edge portions of the flanges of the channel bar'near the end of the bar in an arched form as indicated at- 9, so as to clear theri'b '7 {as the end of the channel bar '5 is inserted in the socket, and these arched portions extend outwardly to the full Width or the flanges of the channel barso that as the arched portions 9 enter the socket 4, the spring lip 6 is pressed laterally until the channel bar is fully inserted, whereupon the'lipfi returns to normal position with the rib 7 engaged in the notches 8. To further facilitate the insertion of the channel bar, the end of the latter is beveled, as'indicated at 10, so that the end of the channel bar readily [slides under the arched portion ofthe sleeve 2.

The socket end of the sleeve 2 is formed with an indentation '11, against which the end of the channel bar comes contact when fully inserted, so as'to limit the insertion of the channel bar, and the intermediate web portion of the channel baris provided with perforations 12 and 13,.through Which the end of a pin 14 may be successfully inserted, so as to bear against the outer end of the lip 6 and afford a leverage'jfor'withdrawing the channel bar 5 from engagementwiththe socket.

This socket structure maybe employed in connection with'various fittings, so as to. permit same to be combined with channel'bars 5, one of which suchfittings is shown particularly in Figs. 9 to 11, inclusive, andhasa tongue 15projecting beyond the end of the sleeve 2 and provided with perforations 16 so that the fitting may be bolted. to other parts of the structure, and this tongue 15 may be bent at an angle to the plane of the plate 1, as shown at"17in-Fig.17, so asto permit connections to be made at, an angle to the sleeve. '2 i The socket structurefjust described, is a characteristic of "many the fittings which reference numeral land in each "instance is formed "v'vith' a'n extension beyond the end ally" from the ear45 so that a so may readily engage with the set screw 46 having a transverse rib 7 to engage the notches 8 of the channel bar, when the latter is inserted in the socket.

Referring to the double whirl structure, which is illustrated to show the manner of assembling the various parts of an outfit embodying my invention, the reference numerals 19, 20 and 21 rcprcscnt channel bar sect-ions which are inserted in sockets 18 of corner connectors 22, 22 and 23, these latter being connected together by channel bars 24, 25 and 26 of different lengths, which are likewise inserted in sockets 18 of the corner connectors to form a tower. Connectors 2? are telescoped on a pair of channel bars 24 and have channel bars 28 and 29 extending thereupon and inserted in sockets 18 thereof, and connectors 27 are telescoped on the channel bars 25 and supporting the channel bar 30 therebetween.

Each of the channel bars 28 and 30 has a bracket 31 mounted thereon having hubs 32 'in which a vertlcal shaft 33 1s ournaled'to freely therein. Each bracket 31 is formed of a plate which has a. hub 32 secured thereto at one end, and at the other end this plate is arched as at to embrace the channel bar,

and has a lip 36 extending under the open side of the channel bar and provided with a set screw 37 which may be set up against the lnner surface of the channel bar to clamp "the bearing bracket in place on the channel bar. To hold the shaft 33 against axial movement in the bearings 32 a collar 38 is secured by a set screw 39 on the shaft above the bracket 31 on the channel bar 30, as shown in Fig. 1.

The channel bar 29 and one of the channel bars 24 which is parallel therewith, ,ach have a bearing bracket 40 mounted thereon and carrying a shaft 41, which has a pulley 42at the outer end and a bevel pinion 43 at the inner end meshing with a bevelpinion 44 of the lower end of the shaft 33 for rotating the latter shaft.

"Each of the brackets i l comprise a plate which is bent at one end to tit over the channel bar and here is an ear -15 co. strucled over the plate so as to extend under the open "side of the channel; iar. and this ear has a secured to the bearing plate in any convenient manner and is preferably spaced laterew driver when a shaft is inserted through a bearing opening in the hub. Thishub 47 has a set screw 48 for locking a shaft in thegbeering when desired, but in the present structure the set screw is withdrawn or removed so as to permit the shaft 41 to rotate freely in the bearings.

For supporting the upper end of the shaft 33, a pair of brackets 49 are mounted respectively on two of the channel bars 26, these brackets being similar to those shown in Figs. 14 and 15, excepting that the hubs 32 are omitted, and there is a plate 50 extending between and having the ends connected with the brackets 49 by bolts 51, and this plate has a hub 52 through which the shaft 33 extends. A bevel gear 53 has a hub bored out to telescope onto the hub 52, and is secured thereon by a set screw 54.

Screwed onto the shaft 33 above the tower and spaced from one another, are a pair of spinners 55 and 56, which have a plurality of sockets 18 arranged at spaced intervals therearound. Each of these spinners is composed of a circular bottom plate 57 having a .hub 58 secured thereto, as shown in Fig. 8,

and provided with a circular plate 59 of similar diameter secured thereto. This plate 59 is formed with radial corrugations, which, when placed over the plate 57 form a plurality of sockets 18, and the marginal edge of the plate 57 is formed with a plurality of ribs 60 corresponding with and serving the same purpose as the ribs 7 of the structures shown in Figs. 9 to 11, inclusive. The plate 59 is secured to the plate 57' at points intermediate the radial corru ations'which form the sockets 18 by providing perforations in the plate 57 and matching but smaller perforations in the plate 59, and crimping the marginal edges of the openings in the plate 59 around the marginal edges of the openings in the plate 57 as shown at 61, so as to 1V8t the plates together, and leave apertures 62 which may be utilized for bolting parts to the spinner. The spinner 55 has channel bars 63 and 64 inserted in adjoining sockets 18 and provided at their outer ends with fittings 65 similar to that shown in Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive, and the outer ends of these bars 63 and 64 are connected by a channel bar 66 which has similar fittings 67 thereon, which are connected with the fittings 65 by the bolts 68.

Adjacent the inner adjoining ends of the bars 63 and 64 is a plate 69 similar to the plate 50 of Fig. 16, except that the ends are bent at an angle and these angular ends are bolted to connectors 70 on the bars 63. Intermediate the ends of the bars 63 and 64 are connectors 71, each of which consists of a lower plate 7 2 and an upper plate 7 3 which is arched intermediately to embrace the channel bar, these plates being adapted to be clamped together by bolts at opposite sides of the channel bar so as to frictionally engage the channel bar. A channel bar 74 extends between the connectors 71 and has a connector 72 at each end similar to that shown in Fig. 9, which connectors are bolted respectively to the connectors 71 on the bars 63 and 64. A clamp bar 75 is engaged on the bar 74 intermediate of its ends and is connected by a channel bar 76 to the upper spinner 56 so as to brace the channel bars 63 and 64 and the mechanism carried thereby. This bar 76 and connector 77 at each end, is

similar to that shown in Fig. 9, but with the extension thereof bent at an angle and the extension of the connector at the lowest end of the bar 76 is bolted to the clamp bar 75, as indicated at 7 8, and the extension of the connector 77 at the upper end of the bar 76 is secured to the spinner 56 by a bolt 79 passing through one of the bolt holes 62 of the spinner.

The bar 66, to which the outer ends of the arms 63 and 64 are connected has a bearing bracket 80 similar to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5 intermediate of its ends and has a shaft 81 ournaled to rotate therein and projecting outwardly therebeyond. The inner end of this shaft is carried by the bearing 82 in the plate 69 and has a bevel pinion 83 on the end meshing with the bevel gear 53 on the shaft 33.

Mounted on the outer end of each shaft 81 is a rectangular frame composed of spaced spinners 84 and 85, one or both of which are placed on the shaft 81, and these spinners have corresponding channel bars 86 and 87 inserted in sockets 18 thereof and extending in opposite directions therefrom and provided with connectors 88 at their outer ends, similar to the connector shown in Fig. 9. A connector 89 is secured to each of the connectors 88 by a bolt 90, and has the extension bent at right angles so that the connectors 89 extend inwardly toward one another, and there is a shaft 90 extending between and having the ends inserted in the sockets 18 of the connectors 89. These connectors, and preferably all the other connectors having sockets 18, are formed-with a raised portion 91 in the bottom plate as shown in Fig. 10, which is substantially on a line with the upper edge of the rib 7 and cooperates therewith to hold a shaft snugly against the opposite wall of the socket and retain the shaft therein.

' Each shaft 90* carries a seat 92 which is composed of a bent plate having the portions constituting a seat bottom and seat it:

perforations at the ends, through which the shaft 90 is inserted.

With a structure assembled as above described, power may be applied to the pulley 42 for operating the device, and will cause the shaft 33to rotate and carry the superstructure, which is mounted on the shaft 33 above the tower, around with it. As this superstructure rotates, the frames 86 and 87 with seats 92 are caused to rotate in a horizontal plane, and said frames and seats in view of the engagement of the pinion 83 with the stationary gear 53 are caused to rotate around the axis of the shaft 81, thus affording a double whirling movement, from which the structure derives its name.

I claim as my invention:

1. In toy construction the combination of a bar having a pair of spaced side flanges, a socket for detachably receiving the end of the bar, an extension atthe end of the. socket adapted to interlock with the bar for holding the latter engaged in the socket. and

recesses in the side of the bar for facilitating insertion of the bar in the socket.

2. In toy construction, the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges, a socket for detachably receiving the-end of the bar, an extension on the socket at one end having a raised portion adaptedto interlock with the bar for holding the latter in the socket and a recess at .the side of the bar adapted to receive the raised portion of the socket extension there in as the .end of the bar enters the socket. 3. In toy construction the combination of a'channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges with notches at .a distance from the end, a socket for detachably receiving the end of the bar, an extension on the socket having a rib adapted toengage the notches of the side flanges when the bar is fully inserted in the socket and thereby hold the bar engaged in the socket, said flanges being recessed between the end of the bar and the notches so as to clear said rib as the end of the bar enters the socket. 4. Intoy construction the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges, a socket for detachably receiving the end of the bar, means at the end of the socket adapted to interlock with the bar for holding the latter in the socket, said bar being formed with a beveled end forming each flange with a tapered extremity to facilitate the insertion of the bar in the socket. 5. In toy construction the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges, a socket for detachably receiving the end of the bar, means at the end of the ,socketadapted to interlock with the bar for holding the latter engaged therein, and a .stop in the socket for limiting the insertion of the'bar.

flanges and a 6. In toy construction the combination or" a socket adapted to receive the end of a channel bar therein, said socket being provided with a lateral wall having longitudinally spaced raised portions, one of which is adapted to interlock with the channel bar for holding the latter engaged in the socket and both of which cooperate to hold a shaft in the socket.

. In toy construction the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side connector therefor comprising a socket having an extension at each end, one of said extensions being provided with locking means for engaging the channel bar so as to hold the latter in the socket and the other extension being provided with means for making a bolted connection therewith.

8. In toy construction the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges, a socket for detachably receiving the end of the bar, means at the end of the socket adapted to interlock with the bar for holding the latter engaged with the socket, said bar being provided with means adapted to be engaged by a lever bearing against the socket for extracting the bar from the socket.

9. In toy construction'the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges, a socket for detachably receiving the end of the bar, an extension at the end of the socket having means adapted to interlock with the bar for holding the latter engaged in the socket, said bar being provided with a perforation adapted to be engaged by a lever when the latter is fulcrumed against the extension so as to extract the bar from the socket.

10. In toy construction the combination of a channel bar having a pair of spaced side flanges and a fitting adapted to be detachably engaged on the end of the channel bar, said fitting comprising a plate having an arched plate superposed thereon, said plates being provided with corresponding perforations having means extending therearound for clamping the plates together.

11. In toy construction the combination of a pair of channel bars each having a pair of spaced side flanges, a connector on the end of each channel bar having a socket adapted to receive the end of the channel bar, and means on the connector interlocking with the channel bar for holding the latter in thesocket, an extension on each connector, and means for detachably connecting the extension of one connector with the extension of the other connector.

ALBERT GIBBNEY. 

